SkyWatch Friday - Just Hang'in Out in Australia

On my 2nd home exchange to Australia in May 2009 I joined up with the Bushwalkers Club and took a hike through the Australian Rainforest.  Above our heads I could hear this crazy screeching and asked "What kind of bird is that?"

"Look up, Debbie.  Way up in the tops of the trees, towards the sky", someone said to me.  Holy smoly.....bats!!!  This picture doesn't do these guys justice.  They were HUGE!!!

How many bats do you see?

Keep looking towards the sky, you never know what you might see.  And if you like looking up, make sure and stop by "SkyWatch Friday" and see what else is "Up".



So Many Wineries, So Little Time

When I went up to Tamborine Mountain for my second hike into the hinterland I was so happy to see that there were wineries all over up there. So you know I had to get back up there to sample the Australian wines!

Sharon hasn't had the pleasure of seeing Tamborine Mountain and when I suggested we make today (May 8) a day of wine tasting, it was a race to the car.

Our first stop is St Bernards Hotel. No this isn't a winery but we had our first glass of wine here because I knew Sharon would love the views. But what I really knew was that she would fall in love with Leo the St Bernard.

Okay, let's get to those wineries! We had picked up a little brochure at St. Bernards Hotel that mapped out where all the wineries were located. "Follow the boutique wine trail" it read, so we did just that.

However, on our way we spotted a great little antique store "Vintage Frills" located at 92 Main Western Road, and we decided to take a peek.

I love poking around antique stores and what a treat to be able to do this while I'm in Australia and see what types of antiques and vintage items the Australians have to offer. We were finding pretty much all the typical items like glassware, jewelery and furniture. And of course Sharon loves vintage clothing and she was having fun trying on boots and looking through the bed jackets when she calls out to me "Debbie, you have to see this".

Because I work for Ann Taylor part time I thought this was hysterical! The only thing I can say that's vintage about this would be the price! $25.00 AUD converts to about $20.80 USD. These days you can't even get a cami from Ann Taylor for this price!

Okay, I need some wine! As we continue on Main Western Road we see our first winery, Witches Falls Winery

As we walk towards the entrance we see a magnificent poinsettia. And it wasn't in a pot! I had no idea how big this plant can get until I saw my first one in Okinawa and then in Africa. So of course we had to have pictures.

I love Australian wine and how great to actually be able to visit an actual winery. We had so much fun hearing about the region, the grape, the process. But what we really loved was tasting the wine!

We even had the opportunity to meet the owner.

We decide now that it is time to grab a bite to eat so we head to an area called "Gallery Walk". This is a street lined with some great shops where art, handcraft, books and antique shops abound, as well as some quaint little restaurants. We chose this great little place called "Amore Cafe" because it had outside dining. And if you know me, when at all possible, eat outside!

I decided on a chai latte......

and then some Bread and Butter pudding while Sharon had the garlic flat bread .....YUM!

We got to chatting with our waitress and discovered that she was leaving in the morning to Brisbane to try out for "Australian Idol". She wouldn't give us a sampling of her singing because she wanted to save her voice for the audition. We're looking forward to seeing her hit the charts and say "We knew her when".

We didn't want to eat too much because we had a dinner invitation tonight to Helen and Grant's and we needed to be there in just about 2 hours. So we decided to shift gears and do a little shopping. It was fun to see some other countries represented on the "Gallery Walk"......... Cuckoo Clocks from the Black Forest in Germany.............

.....and I think this one speaks for itself! I miss you Stijn!

Time to head off the mountain and fore go the wineries....Rats! But we were rewarded with a spectacular view when we reached the bottom.

What a treat to be guests to an Aussie Barbie!

Helen cooked us up some chicken on sticks with different marinades, along with some Kangaroo. No it doesn't taste like chicken.

What a perfect way to end our day of wine tasting and exploring. Good food, good friends and more good wine!


If you would like to see more pictures of our day on Tamborine Mountain check out "Where's Debbie" and click on the album "Tamborine Mountain"